Attachments
The full implementation of this HIP is conditional upon the necessary appropriations being made available under the Facility for Refugees in Turkey
AMOUNT: EUR 505,650,000
The present Humanitarian Implementation Plan (HIP) was prepared on the basis of financing decision ECHO/WWD/BUD/2016/01000 (Worldwide Decision) and the related General Guidelines for Operational Priorities on Humanitarian Aid (Operational Priorities). The purpose of the HIP and its annex is to serve as a communication tool for ECHO's partners and to assist in the preparation of their proposals. The provisions of the Worldwide Decision and the General Conditions of the Agreement with the European Commission shall take precedence over the provisions in this document.
1. CONTEXT
The conflict inside Syria has resulted in displacement unseen in recent years with Syrians becoming the largest refugee population after Palestinians. To date, nearly 5 million Syrians have been registered as refugees in neighbouring countries, and close to 8 million internally displaced inside Syria. With over 3 million registered Syrian refugees and hundreds of thousands registered asylum seekers and refugees of other nationalities (mostly Iraqis and Afghan nationals), Turkey has become the largest refugee hosting country in the world.
Since the beginning of 2015, one million people, mostly Syrian, Iraqi and Afghan nationals, transited through Turkey in order to reach Greece and eventually other EU countries. More than 156,000 people have arrived in Greece in 2016 alone.
In order to increase the support and financial assistance provided by the EU to Turkey in the context of the refugee crisis, an EU-Turkey Joint Action Plan (JAP) was adopted at the European Council on 25 October 2015. The JAP is part of a comprehensive cooperation agenda based on shared responsibility and mutual commitments. On 24 November 2015, a Commission Decision on the coordination of the EU and of EU Member States actions established the Facility for the Refugees in Turkey (the Facility) with a view to assist Turkey in addressing the immediate humanitarian and development needs of the refugees and their host communities for an amount of EUR 3 billion for 2016-2017. The Facility is designed to ensure that the needs of refugees and host communities are addressed in a comprehensive manner and acts as a coordination mechanism with priorities being implemented through the existing relevant EU instruments, rules and procedures. As per the amended Commission Decision of 10 February 2016, the Commission acknowledged the expressed intentions of the Member States to contribute EUR 2 billion whilst EUR 1 billion is to come from the EU budget. The Steering Committee of the Facility, consisting of EU Member States, has agreed to allocate the budget towards the following priorities: humanitarian assistance; education; migration management; health; municipal infrastructure; and socio-economic support.
The EU-Turkey joint statement of March 2016 outlined the comprehensive steps to be taken to reduce irregular movement between Turkey and the EU. This joint endeavor has led to a substantial reduction in the number of arrivals to Greece since 4 April 2016. However, candidates for departure to Europe are still very much exposed to trafficking by smuggling networks. Moreover, continued violence in the neighbouring countries means that inflows to Turkey have not stopped despite Turkey enforcing stricter border management, also introduced out of security concerns.
ECHO's Integrated Analysis Framework for 2015 identified high humanitarian needs in Turkey.
The vulnerability of the population affected by the crisis is assessed to be high.